Captroop

We're 2-0 in games my wife prayed for in church. Be sure to leave an offer, people!

I won't depress myself by getting wistful about the good ole days. I'll just say I'm so happy that Cam is getting recognition as one of the all-time great players in NFL history. The Panthers will always have that.

We have absolutely no right to contend in, much less win this game. But it would be so on brand for us to win a heavily outmatched game, just to give me hope.

In spite of what anyone says about the player-to-coach pipeline, what's undeniable was Luke was already the coach, defensive coordinator and playcaller when he was on the field. He would be a natural DC, and arguably HC. I've been in favor of this move since his retirement, and I'd love to see it happen.

Here's the problem. No matter how many times you shell it, one thing remains the same:

Good. Play this out. Play this out until there are no more excuses so we can end this sad era.

This is definitely the lowest point in the team's history. The difference between this era and any other, is I can't see a way out. Tepper is the only common thread for the ignominy we've dealt with since 2018.

Crazy that after tonight, one of THESE two teams will have the same record as the Carolina Panthers.

The best outcome of Bryce's career. A 30-0 shutout. He put up 121 passing yards. Says a lot about how important he is to our team.

I'm so fuggin' hard right now. Which is impressive after this many pumpkin beers!

OMG. Did we actually blank an opponent?!

30%of his career wins have come against the Falcons.

Who is this team?

I didn't want to jinx it but I woke up this morning knowing somehow that we'd win this one. Still time to fug it up. But I know it'll happen.

Pick your poison. No traction on injury. Fuggin' Tepper.

Well, except for recovering the muffed punt

The game is so different now. I always say, when I started watching, a 55 yarder was desperation. In Madden 2005 it was basically impossible. Now it's expected.

Wow! After Piñero it's so nice to have a kicker with 55+ distance

I'm of the opinion that your O-Line is the foundation of your entire team. It covers all manner of sins. Is our QB group weak? Yes, but they can look a lot better when they have protection. Are our running backs world beaters? No, but they can run through holes if the O-Line creates them. Is our defense bad? Yes. Legendarily in the history of the NFL. But the an offense that's able to sustain drives and doesn't ask them to constantly start on short fields can help that immensely. I can't think of a single area of the team that wouldn't be playing better if we had a stout O-Line.

Yup. I'm exactly as dedicated to this team as they are to putting a quality product on the field. Life is too short to spend getting upset about garbage. I'm a fan. I'll (probably) always be a fan. But because I am not submitting myself to weekly torture doesn't mean my fandom is less pure than anyone else's.

I have a hard time imagining us making any changes mid-season no matter how bad it gets. Tepper is impulsive. But a) there's nothing to be gained by making a change 3 weeks into a season, you're already signaling your season is over. Is someone really going to step in at this point and turn things around? Anyone in the league? Or even CFB, because I don't think Bellichick could step in and right this ship. So the best we could hope for, is someone like Wilks to step in, boost morale enough to win a few meaningless games and ruin our chances at a top pick, and then have the wheels fall off again. And b) Tepper has proven that he is capable of learning some lessons. We really haven't heard much out of that clown recently. Certainly not as much as we used to the first few seasons. And by this I mean I think he knows he has a reputation. And no quality coach wants to go and work for the impulsive, meddlesome owner who repeatedly fires coaches midseason. We've already got to be the least attractive landing spots in the NFL with the absolute dearth of talent, conditioning, and playing surface that will keep players healthy. So the best thing to do is at least pretend that he's ready to stay out of the way. So either way, IMO the smart play is you let this play out all season. Let these suckers go down with the ship, and if a regime change is needed, you wait til the end of the season to make a change.

Okay, so we've completely backslid to O-Line being our most glaring weakness. That, plus a nervous QB who panics under pressure ought to ensure this is the least watchable season of Panthers football... well, since last season really.

Realistically, though... what return. Honestly, I'd be willing to give up the 6th round pick we could hope to get for Bryce at this point just to see Tepper take the big bite of humble pie that releasing Bryce would be. For the long-term health of the franchise, you must admit that visible display of Tepper admitting that he fugged up and should stay out of football decisions would be monumental.

If it weren't for the egos of the people who would have to make this decision, this would absolutely be the move. But admitting you traded multiple firsts, and passed up on Stroud for a #1 overall pick that couldn't even play his way through 3 NFL seasons? That would take a level of humility that our brain trust are just not capable of.